Tea or Coffee
by Oyuki Watanabe
Summary: On a cool, Parisian evening, Rin meets an odd character named Len. Agreeing to a job offer made by Len to co-work on a novel, Rin can't help but be a bit suspicious, though he makes a promise: he will give her anything she desires if she complies. With her wedding coming closer, Rin will have to defy her fiance, find out who Len really is and get her wish before time runs out.


Tea or Coffee

Prologue: One cold winter evening, Rin Mirner stopped by a local café in Paris, France. As she sat down, she was surprised to see a blond, deep blue-eyed young man wearing a beige coat and a hat, about her age, sitting in the once empty seat in front of her.

Chapter 1: A Curious Introduction

Before Rin could open her mouth to speak, the young man introduced himself.

"I am Len Sonoir. Would you mind if I was to ask you an important question?" he asked, in a slight monochromatic tone.

Rin was utterly perplexed, but just as she was about to answer the eccentric man, a modest waitress with very long aquamarine hair came to their table. Her name tag read 'Miku'.

"Good evening. Shall you be ordering a warm drink for such brisk weather?" she hypothetically asked the two. "Tea or coffee?"

Rin was glad she was finally able to speak without an interruption.

"Tea," she said gently. "Earl Grey, please. No sugar."

"Coffee," Len said, his face nearly expressionless. "Black, if you would be so kind."

Miku nodded and quickly went off to the kitchen to make the drinks, despite the fact that there were no other customers in the café.

Rin turned to face Len, "And about your…important question?"

Len's expression did not change, though his eyes shown a bit of ominous interest.

"Ah, yes. Ms. Mirner…"

"How do you know me?" Rin asked the strange man.

"You are the heir to the Mirner Family Cultural Enterprise, are you not?"

"Yes, but that doesn't answer my que–"

"I have a wager for you. If you are sympathetic enough to be the co-worker and editor for my novel, I'll give you anything you desire."

"Novel…but why me?" Rin asked as Miku brought them their drinks.

"You have a vast knowledge of several cultures, do you not?"

'This man is an author…a man of wealth, why is he asking me?' Rin thought to herself.

"And yes, I know I am wealthy, but I need a person of your caliber, one who knows more in depth of cultural sociology." Len said to Rin's surprise, as if he had read her mind.

Rin was hesitant for a moment. If she agreed, he'd give her anything she wanted, right?

"Fine. I will be your co-worker." she said firmly.

Len did not smile, though he finished up his coffee, put money for both of their drinks on the table and stood up. "Very well. I want you at this address at 6 o'clock sharp tomorrow evening." he said as he handed her a small, folded piece of paper and left into the night.

"My…what an odd character." Rin said to herself as she left the café.

The Parisian streets were lined with lamps, bakeries, shops, and bookstores, so Rin decided to pass by her friend Kaito's patisserie.

"Good evening!" Kaito said with a smile as Rin entered. "The usual?"

Rin looked guiltily at the sugared brioche in the warm display table, but after her encounter, she did not have the stomach to eat anything.

"No…ah, Kaito, you wouldn't believe it, I met the strangest person today…his name was Len and I agreed to be his co-worker…"

Kaito dropped a piece of an éclair. "You WHAT? How could you agree to a job given to you by a stranger?!" he said in a quiet tone, in fear of waking up his wife Meiko.

Rin asked herself the same question. "I…don't know, but I feel like I can trust him. It'll be just business anyway–"

"Do you think Rei will be okay with this? With you being in some other man's home– for 'business'?" Kaito said in a very worried voice.

Rin solemnly looked at the ring on her finger. Kaito was right; Rei would be outraged if he found out…how on Earth could she keep this hidden?

Both Rin and Kaito looked at each other with a smile on their faces. "Rui." they said in unison.

Rui Sombre was Rin's cousin from Grenoble, who was madly in love with Rei. Overly attached, in fact. She was the perfect obstacle to keep Rei from finding out.


End file.
